


Lingering Caretaker

by sugarblossom



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:15:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27143023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sugarblossom/pseuds/sugarblossom
Summary: Just a quick fluffy fic about Ash's relationship with Agatha and Lance.
Relationships: Kikuko | Agatha & Satoshi | Ash Ketchum, Satoshi | Ash Ketchum & Satoshi no Pikachu | Ash Ketchum's Pikachu, Satoshi | Ash Ketchum & Wataru | Lance
Comments: 6
Kudos: 77





	Lingering Caretaker

Tiny droplets on the grass gleamed like millions of concert lights, and the dirt surrounding home seemingly shimmered like gold.

Flicking at a flower petal, Ash shifted across the dirt to tug out a few weeds.

Pikachu padded next to him, sniffing a flower before clawing at the dirt.

Ash sat crisscrossed, wiping his face before watching Pikachu strangle a weed, falling over with the force put into it. 

Taking one of his gloves off, Ash patted Pikachu’s head, letting him roll back up.

Steps crackled close to them, followed by a darting shadow. The temperature chilled, and mist enveloped them.

Ash and Pikachu stared up at Agatha, jawdropping. Their eyes grew brighter than the sun shining above them.

Ironic, considering Agatha’s shadow towered over them. 

Where did she even come from? Did she phase through the world to reach here? Was she as ghostly as her pokemon?

No matter!

Pikachu patted Ash’s arm, chirping excitedly. Ash nodded, darting into his house.

Before long, Ash ambled back outside, holding out a Ditto disguised as a Gengar keychain to Agatha with a smug grin. 

Because of course it reminded Ash of Agatha when he saw it!

Agatha’s shadow cooed, cackling when Agatha accepted it with a serious nod.

Laughing, Pikachu climbed up to Ash’s shoulder, chirping at Agatha and gesturing out over the landscape. Ash laughed, nodding in agreement and inviting Agatha to a tour.

The soft bumps of Pallet Town’s hills welcomed their catching up.

Ash placed his hands behind his head, walking up to a hill overlooking the town and asking Agatha if she needed any help with anything.

Pikachu hopped onto the ground, nosing at the ground, ears bouncing.

Agatha intensely stared at Ash as she slid package after package of homemade cookies at Ash.

If it helped, Ash was glad to comply!

They sat down, chatting about experiences with ghost pokemon and training advice. Occasionally, Pikachu chirped in, patting the ground. He stared at Agatha’s shadow, inching closer to the cookies.

Ash chuckled, restraining Pikachu from eating too much of the chocolate while cloud-watching with Agatha. 

Picking up a blue-ish purple stone from the ground, Ash amusedly showed it to Agatha, saying it looked like Gengar.

The shadow next to Agatha purred, and Pikachu eagerly padded over to chat with them.

Mockingly narrowing her eyes, Agatha tried to scare Ash and Pikachu with her ghost stories. Ash, popping a hard candy in his mouth, nodded in excitement. Pikachu, funneling some more cookies into his mouth, also grinned.

Cackling, Agatha reached forward and patted Ash and Pikachu on the head. She talked about fantasies and deaths, about bedtime stories and urban tales.

Ash’s eyes were as starry as the star candies handed to him.

Pikachu’s ears twitched.

A presence blanketed them, wrapping around Ash specifically. Bittersweetness swirled in Ash’s chest, a tangle of sweet black galaxies. Pikachu stared up at Ash, eyes wide.

Agatha gripped her cane, whispering to her shadow.

Before long, the presence disappeared, leaving Ash with a twinge in his heart. Pikachu tilted his head, cooing and patting Ash’s arm.

Putting a hand on his chest, Ash took a trembling breath, staring up at the rumbling tumbling clouds. He snapped out of his stupor, shaking his head and telling everyone he was fine. 

Pikachu pouted.

While Agatha continued telling Ash creepy stories, Ash weaved in his own. Pikachu’s ears drooped as Ash cheerfully described his deaths and neardeaths.

Agatha casually went along with it, adding tips and advice along with jokes about the rest of the Elite. Pikachu shot her a grateful look.

Ash smiled when Agatha mused about memories of their dearest ‘Lancelot of Lake Rage’ hiding under his cape whenever scared by her.

As Pikachu lazily batted his tail in the air, Ash joked about Lance being afraid of ice and fairy types.

Agatha shot Ash a fond smile as he ranted about Froslasses and by extension his Glalie. Pikachu chirped in, rolling over for belly rubs. Ash nodded, chatting with Agatha about Mimikyu and Alolan Ninetales.

“Are you two ganging up on me?” a new voice joked. “You and Riley were already bad enough, Ash, especially with your little  _ ghostly  _ connection.”

While Ash and Pikachu gasped as Lance walked up to them carrying a stack of reports and articles, Agatha icily stared at him.

After greeting Lance, Ash glanced between him and Agatha. “Well, I’ll leave you two to it! Have fun!”

Ash scooped Pikachu up, shoving a few more packages of candy in his pockets before waving goodbye.

Agatha watched Ash run back home with laughter in his steps, her shadow shifting back and forth like grass tickled by wind.

Lance knelt down, picking up a package of star candies.

Grinning and tossing the package up and down, Lance unabashedly said, “You can be caring! So can I have these?”

Agatha’s shadow smothered him.

*⑅❀⑅*⑅❀⑅*⑅❀⑅*⑅❀⑅*⑅❀⑅*

Assorted mugs of coffee? Check.

Mountains of paperwork? Check.

Rambunctious kids? Check.

Wait.

Lance peeked up from signing another form, seriousness melting away.

He watched Ash curiously pick at the edges of the rugs.

He watched Ash tinker with paper clips and rubber bands.

He watched Ash playing tag with a baby Dratini.

Pikachu cheered.

Lance winced when Ash accidentally swerved into a cabinet.

“You good there?”

Ash leaped up, lifting Dratini. “Yeah!” 

He sprinted around the room.

He put Dratini down, dizzy.

He tripped over Pikachu.

Lance sweatdropped.

As Lance continued his work, Ash stared out of the windows up at the sky.

Pikachu and Dratini huddled next to Ash.

Connecting constellations. Cheering about the moon. Pointing out the stars.

Lance absentmindedly doodled on a few sticky notes.

He rolled over to stick them on Ash’s face.

“Those are probably planes or satellites. Don’t get so excited.”

Ash pouted. “Wow, way to ruin the fun!”

He stuck the sticky notes back on Lance’s desk.

Lance propped his head up. He chuckled when Pikachu and Dratini hissed at him. “Way to ruin  _ my _ concentration. You’ve been talking about random stuff for what-” he glanced at the clock on the wall- “the entire evening? Go annoy Riley, at least he seems to know what you’re doing.”

Laughing, Ash pretended to zip his mouth.

After ruffling Ash’s hair, Lance shooed him off.

Gold danced in Lance’s eyes as the fake fireplace in the background crackled.

The pen gliding across the pages. The scratches of pencil marks. The smell of freshly printed pages. The sound of stretched tape.

Wait.

Lance jolted when Ash leaned over, a grin taped to his face.

Groaning, Lance shoved Ash away. “Can you not?”

Ash sported a smug grin.

Scooping Pikachu and Dratini into his arms, Ash started doing karate moves.

“Oh,  _ Ash _ .” Lance dragged a hand down his face. 

A halo of light surrounded Ash like a crown.

Pikachu and Dratini zoomed around the room.

Ash did a power pose, mock punching.

Lance fondly sighed. He ambled over and booped Ash’s nose with a reports folder.

A wisp curled and nudged them both.

They froze.

Ash furrowed his eyebrows; Lance startled more awake than ever.

Before they could say anything, the presence faded away.

Lance stared down at his shoes, hiding his eyes.

Ash awkwardly laughed. “Just a chilly breeze, right?” 

Lance shot him a weak smile.

Ash’s smile wavered.

Pikachu and Dratini tilted their heads.

While the pokemon nudged Ash, Lance stared at his paperwork. 

Lance slumped into his chair.

Ash furrowed his eyebrows. “Hey…”

“I’m proud of you.” Lance randomly traced on his desk with a finger. “I… Yeah. You’ve done a lot.”

Nudging Pikachu and Dratini away, Ash leaned against Lance’s desk. “You’ve done a lot too. I know you’ve been trying the best you’re capable of at the moment, and I want you to know you’re doing a great job.”

Pikachu and Dratini exchanged a glance, playing tag once again. 

“You know I want to help support you, Lance.”

“...I know.”

Ash tackled Lance in a hug.

Lance rolled his eyes. He curled towards Ash, ruffling his hair.

After a few moments, Lance smirked.

Ash yelped as Lance tickled him, both of them bursting into laughter.

The pokemons smiled. 

Pikachu darted after Dratini, laughing.

“Hey have I told you about Guzzlord?” Ash asked, eyes sparkling. “Dark dragon! Like the Hydreigon line!”

“The alternate world, yeah, you did.” Lance scanned another document, his pen gleaming purple-ish blue.

“You were listening???”

“Yes, now go to bed or something.”

“Nooo!”

Dramatically leaning back in his chair, Lance pointed to Ash with his pen. “Then, I don’t know, go annoy the others! Check in with the grandma!” 

Ash shrugged. 

Lance sighed. “Then I dare you to drink as many energy drinks as you can- actually, I dare you to do a hundred sit-ups as fast as you can.”

Ash clenched his fists. “You are  _ on _ !”

It earned them about two minutes of silence.

A shadow blocked the moonlight warmth.

Lounging next to Lance, Ash raised his eyebrows up and down, playfully shifting Lance’s coffee mug.

Lance facepalmed, daring Ash to continue until he was actually  _ tired _ .

Ash mock-saluted him.

Lance couldn’t help but crack a smile when Dratini and Pikachu sleepily curled on top of Ash, making him strain to do sit-ups.

It was… peaceful. 

If not a little chilly.

The clock ticked away.

The muffled sound of a chair dragged against carpet prompted Lance to glance to his left.

Ash plopped Pikachu and Dratini on the desk, clinging to Lance’s arm, eyelids drooping.

Lance instinctively shifted so Ash leaned his head against his shoulder.

The shadows shifted under the moonlight.

As Ash drifted off, Lance stared towards the closed office door, eyes dark.

A figure stood against the wall, shadow pooling under them.

They smiled.

_ So you still care... _

**Author's Note:**

> Partially inspired by Astre_Red! And this fic was brought to you by juxtaposition! 
> 
> I *totally* forgot to post this last Sat, that's how you know school's getting to me. Well, hope you guys had a nice week last week!


End file.
